Italian to English Translation

This direction is used when an Italian document has to be sent to an English-speaking country. The source is a diploma, civil registry record or contract drawn up in Italy or in the Italian-speaking canton of Switzerland; the destination is an English-language institution in the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada. In the reverse of the en|it pair, here it is concepts particular to Italian administrative and legal language that are carried across to an Anglo-Saxon reader, and the culture of the authority reading them does not know Italian bureaucracy.

The main users are people who completed a stage of their education or career in Italy and then moved to an English-speaking country: those applying for a master’s degree in the United States or for professional recognition in Canada with an Italian diploma, the registry and signature documents an Italian company will present to an English-language market, families using the birth record of a child born in Italy in an English-speaking country. In these profiles, the fact that the document carries an Italian reality while the receiving side does not recognise that reality is what forms the centre of gravity of the translation.

Challenges specific to this pair

Identification numbers particular to Italian documents, such as the codice fiscale, are not translated; they are retained and what they refer to is stated. Official document names (certificato di nascita, casellario giudiziale) are rendered into English by their institutional function, not word for word. Long, nested Italian sentences are broken into short English sentences that put the subject first; every condition and obligation is nevertheless preserved. Date format follows the English destination, and the name of the month is written out in letters to prevent day-month confusion.

On the name side, accented letters (à, ò) are aligned with the spelling in the person’s passport and the same form is used in every document. Concepts particular to Italian higher education (laurea, laurea magistrale) are not forced onto an equivalent English degree; the recognition decision is left to the assessing body (NACES members in the United States, provincial associations in Canada). The Italian marking system (out of 110) is not converted but explained. The marca da bollo (revenue stamp) frequently found on Italian documents and the positions of official seals are preserved in the translation with a note.

Italian administrative formulas are likewise carried into English by their meaning. Statutory references such as ai sensi dell’articolo are paraphrased in a way an English reader will follow; act and article numbers are not translated, but what they refer to is stated. Registry and file numbers are also retained, with a note of the record they belong to, so that the link between two numbers on two documents belonging to the same person can be established. In multi-document immigration and recognition files, the name, the equivalents used for institutions and the date format are kept consistent across every document.

Some concepts particular to Italian administrative culture have no English counterpart at all, and these are explained in the translation. Documents drawn up under the autocertificazione (self-declaration) procedure, for instance, are unfamiliar in English-speaking countries, so the nature of the document is set out in a short note; otherwise the receiving side may take it for an official certificate or, conversely, regard it as invalid. The Italian marking system (including 110 e lode) is not converted into an English letter grade or GPA system; it is conveyed as it stands and explained, since the decision to convert belongs to the recognition body. Whether the document carries valore legale (legal validity) is likewise preserved where the source text states it. Conveying these conceptual differences correctly prevents an authority unfamiliar with the Italian reality from placing the document in the wrong category. An uncertain rendering, on the other hand, usually comes back as a request for further documents or explanation and lengthens the process; that is why acceptance of an Italian document at the first attempt depends as much on this conceptual clarity as on terminology.

Documents for which this direction is requested

Education files (diplomas, transcripts, course descriptions) form the core of demand, and their content is conveyed in full for the recognition assessment. Next come birth, marriage and civil registry records; criminal record certificates and administrative certificates; and commercial contracts and company documents.

• Italian diplomas, transcripts and course descriptions
• Birth, marriage and civil registry records
• Criminal record certificates and administrative certificates
• Commercial contracts and company documents

Chain of certification

Because the destination is an English-speaking country, no sworn translator system is looked for; the United States and the United Kingdom ask for a translation with a statement of accuracy, while Canada asks for a translator registered with an association or an affidavit. A document leaving Italy is expected to carry an apostille. You can see how expectations vary by destination on the country certification regime page and the papers required in the document guide.

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The fee and turnaround information on this page is based on the current tariff; it may vary with the features of the document. For definitive information, rely on the current announcement of the institution concerned.